3 ms·
> It's standard for journalists to give material support to their sources in whistleblower circumstances in order to help protect their identity. I don't think
by ardy42 8y ago
> It's standard for journalists to give material support to their sources in whistleblower circumstances in order to help protect their identity.
I don't think it's standard for journalists to give material support for the criminal acts of their sources. For instance: what if Assange had assisted Manning by giving him a gun so he could kill someone who'd discovered that he had blown the whistle, in order to help protect his identity?
I think the key question is, did Assange help Manning commit any crimes, or did he merely report the information resulted from Manning's un-assisted crimes?
- dictum 8y agoWhile your metaphor is merely intended as a comparison of aiding a crime, it's made hazier by the introduction of a crime of a grisly nature (murder) committed directly (the source pulls the trigger; it is not a murder caused by a third party without the knowledge of the source and the journalist) A better comparison would be a journalist buying a wrench that can pry open a certain box, or conversely, a lock that makes it very hard to open a certain box.